When the remade “Melrose Place” premiered with a disappointing level of buzz and an even more disappointing rating, it was clear that the nostalgia factor was not enough to turn The CW’s latest revival attempt into a hit.
Despite the obvious shortage of intrigued original “Melrose” fans, as the ratings quickly tanked from underwhelming territory to dangerous territory, all hope nonetheless shifted to the franchise return of Heather Locklear. A standout on the original “Melrose” and greatly credited with boosting its ratings, the hope was that she could breathe some life into The CW’s modern revival.
She did not.
Preliminary ratings data reveals that Tuesday’s “Melrose Place” episode, which featured Locklear’s return, did only 1.5 million viewers with a 0.8 adults 18-49 rating. Though up from last week’s series low 0.7, it is clear that any Locklear-fueled boost was negligible; the show remains distantly below desirable ratings territory.
Granted, with 2.1 million viewers and a 1.1 rating, lead-in “90210” is not setting the world on fire.
From half-hour one to half-hour two, “Melrose” lost about 60,000 viewers but held steady in the young adults demo.
— Elsewhere, ABC’s “V” took another sizable decline, falling to just 9.3 million viewers and a 3.1 rating for its third airing. The show’s audience grew sizably from half-hour one to half-hour two (2.9 rating to a 3.3 rating), although one has to question the role the subsequent “Dancing with the Stars” airing played in bringing viewers to the table for the latter portion of the show.
The rating was still solid for a new series, but in order to avoid being written off as a disappointment, “V” needs to quickly find its viewership bottom.
Ratings sources: Nielsen, THR, Mediaweek